Scope Document

Purpose

The scope document is a general term for any document that refines and defines the requirements aspect of the triple constraint of time, cost, and requirements. In this general sense, it provides an overview of what the project is supposed to accomplish and clarifies how those accomplishments will be achieved. It may also provide the team members, customer, and project manager with insight on what is specifically not in the scope.

Application

The scope document is used as a tool to minimize disputes over what is and is not included in the project. It is not only used to clarify the project’s objectives for project organization and the customer, but also for team members and between management and the project manager. Because visions about how a project may be carried out frequently differ, the scope document serves as the unifying tool for those visions.

Content

The scope document is an expanded version of the scope statement, with far more extensive information. It normally incorporates much of the same information as the scope statement, with expanded detail on stakeholders, requirements, deliverables, features, long-term use/application, and administrative requirements. The outline for a scope document may include the elements discussed in the following subsections.

1.0 Introduction/Background

This would include the history and any environmental definitions required to understand the project in general terms and to understand the remainder of the document.

2.0 Rationale/Business Opportunity

As a cross-reference to the business case, this component expresses the advantages of moving ahead with the project and why it was undertaken. The location of the original business case should be included here.

3.0 Stakeholders and End Users

This will list both business areas and individuals, citing their responsibilities, involvement, and any responsibilities or deliverables they may generate associated with the project.

This will sometimes be broken out into the functional requirements for the project and the technical requirements. In some instances, the scope statement may only include the functional requirements. It should incorporate all of the mandatory requirements from the contract or memorandum of understanding, and should incorporate detail on the features of the deliverable that will serve those requirements.

5.0 Administrative Requirements

Because administrative responsibilities can be almost as onerous as project deliverable responsibilities, they should be clearly defined as components of the project scope. The information should be included on required meetings, reports, and support for the life of the project.

6.0 Postproject Considerations

Because the project effort normally makes up only a small component of a total system life cycle, any long-term considerations that will directly affect the project decision-making process should be incorporated in the scope document. This may include many of the assumptions that will be made regarding long-term application.

Approaches

Although the scope statement is generally confined to a few paragraphs or pages, the scope document may be a far more substantial document. It captures information from a variety of sources and places it in a single repository. As an alternative, it may largely be a document that provides reference to other documentation in other locations (specifically identifying those locations and the information embedded in that documentation).

Considerations

Because most of the information included in a scope document can be found in other project documentation, some organizations may choose to forego this document. The only advantage to having a separate scope document is that it provides a single storage area for information that may otherwise be housed in farflung locations.